Innovation Fuels, the New York-based renewable fuel company that manufactures, markets, and distributes biodiesel fuel to customers around the world, has partnered with Tanco Milwaukee LLC, an affiliate of Hammond IN-based Wolf Lake Terminals to create Innovation Fuels Tanco Milwaukee (IFT Milwaukee). This new company is designed to operate its 312,000-barrel (45,000-metric-ton)-capacity terminal on 10 acres at the Port of Milwaukee WI. The new IFT Milwaukee hub is the first terminal in the nation totally dedicated for the sale and distribution of renewable fuels.
In January 2009, Innovation Fuels announced the closing of the Milwaukee terminal, financed by Securant Bank & Trust, a commercial bank based in Milwaukee. Originally built as Shell Oil's Milwaukee headquarters in the 1950s and acquired from NuStar Energy LP, the terminal includes a 20,000-square-foot warehouse, executive offices, and a garage.
The IFT Milwaukee site features existing truck and rail loading infrastructure, with excellent highway access and is served by two Class I railways, the Union Pacific Railroad and Canadian Pacific Railroad. In addition, the Port of Milwaukee has international shipping access via the St Lawrence Seaway and can receive river barge cargo via the Mississippi. The facility also has an idled connection to the Westshore petroleum pipeline, which could be used to bring in diesel and gasoline to the terminal for blending with renewable fuels.